I'll Help You Carry On

Today was the first day that we were able to spend the entire day at Jacob's Ladder--yay no long bus ride! Since we have been getting up early and returning late we also have not gotten a chance to see many of the residents here. I was very happy to see some of my old friends like Sandy, Takeisha, Mary, Laura and many others. We had morning devotion and singing with the residents and caretakers before heading to our day of work. Our work project was building a set of stairs down to the farm area of Jacob's Ladder. We had Andrew, Jessika, Britt, and Iryna digging out the shell of the steps; Christina and Lindsay filling buckets with rocks; and Jen and me taking the buckets down to fill the steps to prep for the concrete. We had an amazing crew of Mustard Seed employees showing us the way.

Our team made fast work of the entire project and moved on to lunch time devotion with the residents. The highlight of the day for the team was definitely the dance party that spontaneously broke out after the devotion. It was a little bit of a slow start with several residents on the stage of the Care Plus Centre but the turning point for everyone was the group sing-a-long to "Lean on Me." And then it really kicked up a notch when "Little Drummer Boy" came on the Christmas in July CD the residents were playing.

Unfortunately we had a bit of rain storm in the afternoon that held up the progress of our work project but we made the best with some team time inside with our adult coloring books. We then headed out into the town of Ocho Rios for dinner. We enjoyed jerk pork and chicken, festival and bammy root along with our Red Stripes and rum punches while lounging under a tropical-looking gaezbo. It was a great opportunity to relax and bond as a team. We have discussed several times that just a few days ago most of us were strangers. But looking at us working to build the steps or cracking up at dinner someone would think we have been lifelong friends. I think we'd all agree we now have 7 additional people to "lean on."

Jordan (7-Year Veteran)
http://www.mustardseed.com/goto/NYC